Nearly unchanged for the last five hundred years, the game of chess remains immensely popular. Today, it's estimated that over 605 million individuals world-wide are knowledgeable of the game.

How to become started yourself?

It's not as difficult as you may imagine, but it will take a bit of a primer. To start, let's begin with the standard tools of the game. There are in truth only two essentials: 1) the chess board and 2) the chess set.

Let's Start Out

Comprised of sixty-four squares (with 8 rows by eight), switching between white and black, a chess board offers the figurative battlefield on which participants maneuver. From here, chess players are able to project their attacks, protect their monarch, and defend their ground.

At the outset of each game, chess pieces are placed at the upper and lower rows. From these beginning positions, strategies and maneuvers develop. Played between 2 opponents, chess is essentially a battle between 2 armies. The chess pieces equate to that of a medieval armament, outfitted with a king, a queen, 2 bishops, two knights, 2 rooks, and 8 pawns.

The final objective of chess is to capture the king of the other side, which if successful, will effectively end the battle (and game). To do so is to checkmate their opposition. Take Note that a game can also end in a impasse, if it's evident that no true checkmate is viable.

Again, a chess board consists of 64 squares, which has been the case for greater than a thousand years now, going back to the game's roots with the Indian game Chaturanga. The rows are viewed as rank and the columns file. Ranks are numbered one to eight, while files are counted as a-f. Therefore, every square has its personal affiliated name on the grid.

A Few Rules of Thumb

When notating, recall that it's file first, which signifies the file key is always 1st. For example, the bottom right square marks as a8 or a-file, eighth rank. While the notational system isn't necessary for the starting chess participant, maintaining track of files and ranks is a easy way of seeing the playing area, appraising space, and consequently, planning one's strategy.

Equally for the chess sets, every one consists of 32 color-coded pieces: sixteen are reserved for the white player and the other sixteen for the black. At the games start, a color/side is chosen: white or black, which also defines who moves first. The player allotted the white chess pieces invariably has the honor.

Also, speaking of color, when setting up a chess board, keep in mind: white=right. This mnemonic rhyme will assist you turn the board correctly, as proper setup of chess sets is essential, especially if one is notating the game. In the lower right-hand box, there should always be a white square. For all players. If it's a black square, turn the chess board once before placing the chess pieces down.

Performing the First Movement

Congratulations! Now that you've got your chess board positioned right and your chess set properly setup, it's time to play and to create that important initial move.